Since their creation, The Anatomical Venus--an18th century life-sized wax woman created to teach a general public about anatomy--have seduced, intrigued and
amazed; this symposium will also attempt to explore the ways in which,
to the contemporary eye, they also confound, flickering on the edges of
medicine and magic, votive and vernacular, fetish and fine art.

Full line up follows; ticket link should be added by Monday!

THE ANATOMICAL VENUS, MORBID ANATOMIES AND STRANGE ATTRACTORS: A ONE DAY SYMPOSIUM TO MARK THE LAUNCH OF THE ENW BOOK "THE ANATOMICAL VENUS"
TIME: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
PRICE: £13/ £7 STUDENTS
OFFSITE AT London's Horse Hospital
TICKETS LINK ADDED SOON!

Please join Morbid Anatomy and Strange Attractor as we celebrate the release of the new book “The Anatomical Venus” (published by Thames and Hudson in the UK and DAP in the US), which explores the strange and fascinating history of seductive female anatomical wax models, which peaked in fashion in the 19th century. Filled with never before published images from around the world, and documented in intricate detail, the book is the result of Morbid Anatomy founder Joanna Ebenstein’s global, ten-year photographic quest. Since their creation, these wax women have seduced, intrigued and amazed; this symposium will also attempt to explore the ways in which, to the contemporary eye, they also confound, flickering on the edges of medicine and magic, votive and vernacular, fetish and fine art.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

As part of our recent Amsterdam Anatomy Weekend, The Vrolik Museum's Lisa Kuiper gave a fascinating tour of The Waag (above), which is not only the oldest building in Amsterdam (dating back to 1488) but also housed the anatomical theatre where public dissections were performed under the hand of Frederik Ruysch and others from 1691 until the early 19th century. The content of the following post is primarily sourced from Lisa's excellent tour.

The Waag, Kuiper explained, began its life as a city gate; called St Anthony’s Port, it was locked each evening at 10 pm. It went on to become a weighing house (Waag in Dutch) where goods would be weighed before entering the city to evaluate the appropriate taxes before they went to market. From 1588 on, it also served as the home to the city's guilds, including that of the Surgeons; they were given the top space, a testament to thier importance. The Surgeons' Guild built a "Theatrum Anatomicum," or Anatomical Theatre, which could be entered through this door:

Here, they conducted dissections, usually on the bodies of executed criminals; in this way their location was convenient, because criminals were also executed here, as seen in this artwork from 1812:

In 1690, neighbors of the Waag sent a letter to the Surgeon's Guild, requesting that the dissections be opened to the curious public; they did so the following year, under the persuasion of famed embalmer, anatomist and so called "artist of death" Frederik Ruysch who also conducted the first dissections. Below you can see him dissecting a child attached to the placenta; more on the man and his work below.

Dissections could take as long as seven days to complete, with admission prices varying based on proximity to the body and the day you wished to attend, with earlier dates being more expensive and smelling less vile. The Waag also functioned--as did the Leiden anatomical theatre--as sort
of museum, open on Christmas and special fair and market days. Here, one could see a cat
with four hind legs, a skeleton of a child playing violin along with
other skeletons, the preserved skins of dissected criminals, a
taxidermied lion and lioness, and more. At least some of
the preparations were made by Frederik Ruysch himself.

Until the 1820's, as explained in a lecture by Vrolik Director Laurens de Rooy, anatomists would dress skeletons and put them in the windows during the the annual market fair, presumably to advertise the contents of the museum; he kindly sent me a copy of the image so I could include it here:

Illustration from Marja Keyser's Komt dat zien! De Amsterdamse kermis in de 19e eeuw
(‘Come and see! The Amsterdam fair in the 19th century)Courtesy of Laurens de Rooy

Rembrandt's famous 1632 painting "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp" depicts a dissection which took place at The Waag's Theatrum Anatomicum:

Rembrandt, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, 1632

As with all guild portraits, each doctor would have paid for their own portrait. Dr Tulp is one of very many anatomy guild paintings; we also were lucky enough to see a few more at the Amsterdam Hermitage as part of the exhibition Portrait Gallery of the Golden Age:

Rembrandt, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Jan Deyman, 1656;
fragment; the rest destroyed in a fire.

The exhibit also housed an image of the Theatrum Anatomicum in the Waag from the 18th century seemingly rendered in gold and silver:

The Theatrum Anatomicum in the Waag, Jonas Zeuner
after Adolf van der Laan, Second half of 18th Century

And a memento mori themed plaque originally on display at an orphanage; it was made during a year when the city of Amsterdam was wracked by plague, with 10% of the population decimated and the orphanages overrun.

Albert Jansz Vinckenbrinck (1604-1664), Death, 1663

Wealthy surgeons might opt for inclusion in a guild portrait, but another and less expensive way surgeons could be immortalized would be to have their family crest painted on the ceiling of the Waag's Theatrum Anatomicum; they can still be seen today

Ruysch's crest is in the very center, reflecting his fame and his importance to the space.

Around the building, in gold letters, reads a memento-mori themed
exhortation in Old Dutch. said to have been written by Ruysch himself:

Here is what is says, in a impromptu translation by The Waag's Helen Fermante:

Those who have done bad in lifeWill be of use after our deathHealth has been taken back from death itselfThe dead body gives to the pupil even though its dumb and its tongue already dead, advises you not to do as criminalsHead, finger, kidney, tongue, head, lung, brain, bones, and hands Give you the living a warning exampleSo you hear and take to heartthat when you go along the different paths of lifeyou'll be convened that even in the small details God is still hidden there

In this way, one could see the Theatrum Anatomicum as an extension of the aims of Ruysch's home cabinet, where he displayed his unique preparations that were equal part science and memento mori, such as the allegorically themed fetal skeleton tableau in the illustration below. The skeleton at the bottom is holding a mayfly which, as it only lives a single day, is a symbol of mortality. The top skeleton plays a violin atop a mountain of gall and bladder stones, surrounded by foliage crafted from other preserved human remains. You can find out more about the remarkable Frederik Ruysch--who we call our patron saint--here.

To see more photos from our Amsterdam Anatomy Weekend, click here. The next iteration will take place on April 21-23 2007. If you sign our mailing list by clicking here, you will be alerted when the event is announced.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

In 1919, artist Oskar Kokoschka commissioned doll maker Hermione Moos to create a life-sized effigy of his former lover Alma Mahler, widow of composer Gustav Mahler and one of the most pursued and celebrated women in Vienna. Despite being unhappy with the results. he painted and photographed the doll many times, and took it out as his companion to the theater and restaurants. Eventually, he ceremonially doused it in red wine and beheaded at a party.

Learn more this--and much more!--in the new Morbid Anatomy Thames and Hudson / Artbook / D.A.P. book "The Anatomical Venus," out at the end of May!

More can be found here. It can be pre-ordered in the USA here, and here for the rest of the world.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

This weekend in Vienna, Morbid Anatomy is joining forces with two astounding Viennese medical museums--The Josephinum and The Narrenturm--for our first ever Vienna Anatomy Weekend!

The Josephinum--founded in 1785--houses an incredible collection of 18th century anatomical waxes crafted by the famed la Specola workshop in Florence, including its own dissectable Anatomical Venus, seen above with one of our lecturers, sculptor and ceroplast Eleanor Crook. The Narrenturm (bottom image) houses one of the largest and most stunning collections of pathological waxes and wet specimens I have ever personally seen in an atmospheric 18th century madhouse.

I suggest spending Saturday at the Narrenturm and Sunday at the Josephinum to be sure to see all. Below is my suggested full schedule; you can email pas@nhm-wien.ac.at to register for all Narrenturm events and sammlungen@meduniwien.ac.at for all Josephinum events. Fee can be paid at the Museums on the day of; please bring cash. Also, the museums are literally a 5 minute walk from one another, which is not clear from the addresses.

Also, we are so excited that our opening party will now take place at The Narrenturm on Friday at 5pm!

Tours (10€ each tour; please specify which you you would like to do)
Times: 1, 3 and 5
• Tour 1: Architectural tour with veterinary, electro-pathology and gynecology focus
• Tour 2: copious overview of the collection with emphasis on moulages (painted wax casts)
•
Tour 3: backstage tour in areas not open to general public, such as the
administrative floor, the attic, the depot and the preparation

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

People
like Von Cosel live so far outside our materialist world that it’s hard
for them to even perceive ’normal'. They challenge reality without
effort, inhabiting in a world of their own design. Which is why I am
driven to create a documentary about this strange, beautiful life.
--Ronni Thomas, Morbid Anatomy Filmmaker in Residence

Morbid Anatomy's filmmaker in residence Ronni
Thomas is hard at work on a new feature
length film detailing the story of self-styled Count Carl von
Cosel (aka Carl von Cosel), a man best remembered today for trying to
preserve the body of his beloved.

Ronni is trying currently raising funds via Kickstarter for this ambitious and worthy new project. More on the
story of Cosel in Thomas' guest post below, and in the video above. Please consider supporting
this amazing fever dream of a film if you can! You can do so by clicking here.

Count Carl Von Cosel - Beyond DeathIts very easy to take the story of Carl von Cosel and strip it down to the extremes: He became obsessed with a patient of his, she died, he dug her up, he slept with her for 7 years... And most accounts of his story are whittled down to just that in a sense... A mad, sad necrophile who went to extreme lengths to have the object of his desire. For the internet age, thats about as much as anyone wants to know before moving on to the next post.

The mad doctor sitting at the pipe organ he traveled the world with

But for me, "Slept with a corpse for 7 years", seemed to beg more information. My latest, highly ambitious film project, No Place For The Living,, aims to supply those interested with that information. For the past 2 years, I've made it my own personal obsession to make some sense of the Cosel story. I've devoured the sparse amounts of literature on the subject and have endured the several cheesy amber tinted dramatic recreations for television. But mostly, I am basing my story on his own personal testimony... His Journal. Of all the writings, it speaks the loudest. It fills in alot of whats MISSING from the story: the 'why'.

The cover of Cosel's journal, published by Fantastic Adventures

Now, of course I'm glossing over many details myself so let me back up a bit. If you are unfamiliar with the Cosel story, here is generally what you'll find. In 1930s Key West, Florida, a German immigrant who would dub himself 'Count' Carl von Cosel took work as a Radiologist at the Maritime Hospital. This was during the height of the tuberculosis epidemic and patients were dropping by the dozens. One of these patients was a 20 year old Cuban immigrant named Elena Hoyos. Cosel, who was 54, became instantly obsessed with the girl. In his journal, he claims to have been introduced to her spirit several times in his life and she was his 'spirit bride'. I should note that he had a very living wife and 2 daughters living on mainland Florida in Zephyrhills.

Of course Elena dies despite the Count using what he considered 'advanced technological' efforts to save her (really he was just shooting her up with radiation). He takes it upon himself to have her buried. This is odd for her family, but they agree due to their own financial situation. They also agree to let the mad Count 'rent' Elena's bedroom. Cosel moves in immediately. Almost a year passes when he realizes that heavy rains might damage the body. So, he manages to have the body dug up and placed in a mausoleum that he built with his own hands. He visits the crypt daily and converses with the dead girl. She begins to feel lonely (in his own testimony) and requests for him to take her home.... which he does. They move into a home on the beach and for 7 years they remain together until Elena's sister demands to know if rumors of her sister being not at all in the grave are true.

Elena Hoyos - Before / After

Its shocking for sure. But his journal tells a much madder tale, rife with romance and gothic visions. He plays the part of a Hollywood Mad Scientist using Alchemy, Medicine and Mysticism to bring the body of Elena back to life... an achievement he declares to have been a success. He makes references to Eastern methods of curing 'death' and disease. He seems to be confused and torn between spirituality and science... he's a desperate man, playing all sides to bring his Frankenstein Bride back from the dead.

So much historical effort has been put in to focus on his alleged sexual encounter with the corpse that little has ever been done to really scratch the surface of this entirely insane story. Its got ghostly visitations, a statue that springs to life in an Italian cemetery, a hand-built 'airship' that resembles more a George Melies prop than anything that could ever take flight (it had massive pontoon wheels and no wings) and there's even a big explosion toward the end. Its a cinematic dream. A Gothic Romance. So I ask to go PAST the alleged necrophilia, and give his story a chance. Take a Fortean approach to his case, suspend disbelief and enter the astonishing and uncanny mind of Count Carl von Cosel...

The Contessa Elena Airship which doubled as a makeshift laboratory for Elena

Friday, April 8, 2016

The Morbid Anatomy Vienna Anatomy Weekend schedule has been finalized, with special tours, backstage access and lectures at two incredible medical museums, the Narrenturm, with its spectacular pathology collection in the 18th century "Fools Tower," and the Josephinum with its exquisite Anatomical Venuses and 18th century waxes!

Tour 1: Architectural tour with veterinary, electro-pathology and gynecology focus
Tour 2: copious overview of the collection with emphasis on moulages (painted wax casts)
Tour 3: backstage tour in areas not open to general public, such as the administrative floor, the attic, the depot and the preparation

10€ each, please specify time and name of tour when making reservations.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

One thinks of Anatomical Venuses as an 18th and 19th century phenomenon, but here is material proof that they continued to be made at least until as the early 1930s. This dissectible life-sized wax Anatomical Venus was created around 1930 by the wax modeling workshop of Rudolf Pohl and exhibited at a fairground museum as part of Oktoberfest 1933 and 1934. You can see her today at the fabulous Münchner Stadtmuseum.

Learn more in new Thames and Hudson / Artbook / D.A.P. book The Anatomical Venus, out soon! More can be found here.